Pokemon Ranger, Shadows of Almia: The Beginning of the End
by leafybreeze
Summary: Kate is a lonely girl still haunted by the shadows of her past. When she goes to Almia to become a ranger, what secrets will she discover about her purpose..? What happens when she meets Keith..? All kinds of adventures await.
1. Prologue (not a full chapter)

**Author's note: Hi! This is the second time I am writing the prologue, so I hope it's at least a little better than the first. I hope you like it. I also want to wish everyone a wonderful new year filled with warmth, smiles, peace and joy, (sorry it's a little late.) Thank you.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, the characters, the game's storyline, or whatever else I forgot. Thank you.**

**Prologue, Rewritten**

(Kate's P.O.V, past/dream)

I was crying, scared and crying. All alone, in the midst of many searing flames. Still, I had to keep on going. I had to because my partner, Cyndi, was in here. Cyndi is a pokémon, a cyndaquil. She isn't just that either. She is my partner, my partner and my best friend. That is why I must keep going. Cyndi may be a fire type pokémon, but even a fire type cannot withstand flames such as these. That's not to mention the way they put out the fire. They used water, CO2 and chemicals, all of which would be horrible for poor Cyndi.

I couldn't bear the thought of that, so I kept fighting through the fierce flames. I wish I could call out to Cyndi, but I am mute, so I cannot speak. I have been mute since I was born. I signed out to Cyndi in case she could see me. It was to no avail. I climbed up numerous flights of stairs, but there was still no sign of her. Eventually, I collapsed, and the world slowly faded around me. The last thing I saw was two people in red uniforms, with black and gold trim.

(Ringtown Ranger Base, a quite few years later)

"Solana! Oh, Solana," I signed. I was beginning to panic, as she had the letter that would decide the rest of my future!

"Are you okay!" Solana came rushing over. I guess she must have thought something huge had happened. It hadn't yet, but today was the day!

"Oh, now I get it. You want that letter, right?" Solana hung the letter just out of reach. I jumped up and snatched it out of her hands. I ripped open the envelope and stared in shock. The letter read,

_Dear Katlyne,_

_We are writing to inform you that you have been accepted into Almia's Ranger School. We are very excited to meet you, and your new classmates are as well. In order to be fully accepted, you shall have to pass a capture test. If you have any questions, everyone is very friendly, so please do not hesitate to ask. Enclosed is a ferry ticket, and your school uniform._

_Wishing you the best of luck,_

_Principle Lamont Splendidocious. _

I gave Solana a hug, and then rushed upstairs to pack my bags. This was going to be my real purpose, my destiny…

**I'm sorry, I know this was still really short. I promise you it will get better, so please don't judge just based on this chapter! Anyways, I hope you liked this, and please review. Thank you! :)**


	2. Chapter 1: What A Day!

**Authors note: Thank you everyone who's taking time out of their day to read this, it means a lot! I hope you enjoy the story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, the characters, storyline, or whatever else I forgot. *Starts crying in the corner* **

**Chapter 1: What A Day!**

(Kate's P.O.V, present day)

I awoke with a start. I've been having that same dream a lot lately. Maybe it had something to do with my past, my past before I joined the Ringtown Ranger Base.

Not like it mattered much anyways. All I knew was that there was a fire, and since I had no family, the Ringtown rangers took me in. I jumped in shock as my alarm clock shook me out of my reverie. It was a rare occasion I woke before my alarm clock- a rare occasion that's becoming increasingly more common lately.

I stared at my calendar. Oh-my-gosh! Today was _that_ day. The day I could finally become a ranger myself! I thrust my school uniform on- I had been sent it the day before- and rushed out the doors. Solana handed me my ferry ticket as we hi-fived, and before I knew it, I was on the ferry.

(2 hours later: ranger school dock)

I stared wide-eyed at everything. I couldn't believe it! This was the school I was going to go to! If I even managed to pass the test. I figure it'll be pretty easy though, seeing as I can communicate with Pokémon without a styler. This would be a cinch!

I quickly asked a cute little taillow for directions to the entrance exam room. I thanked her, and rushed over there.

'How cute, a Pikachu!' I thought. 'This should be an easy capture.' Indeed it was, as I captured the Pikachu in under 10 seconds flat. I turned to Mr. Kaplan, curious as to how I compared to the other students.

"Well done. My name, it is Kaplan. You are now a member of our secret army, the inscrutable team school. With your help, we can rule the world!"

I just stared. I was honestly quite bewildered. Was this guy crazy? And what about that maniacal laugh..? I shivered, for the mere thought of that was seriously creepy.

Just as I was about to run for the hills, the light flickered on, and a lady with reddish-brown hair stepped in, sporting a stern look.

"Oh please Mr. Kaplan! Don't tease my student with a silly display like that! You do not want to get me angry!"

I was rather shell-shocked. Who was scarier, Mr. Kaplan, or this lady, presumably my new teacher. Just as I was backing out the door, the lady stopped and turned to me with a smile.

"I'm sorry about that dear. Mr. Kaplan can get a bit… carried away at times, to say the least. Anyways, I'm Miss April, follow me. Your new class is waiting!"

I gulped. I heard voices from outside the door.

"Now class, as you know, we have a new transfer student today…" Poor Miss April didn't even get a chance to finish before the usual flurry of questions broke out.

"Is it a guy, or a girl? Which is it?"

"Is the new student cool? Cute? Or look like a celebrity?"

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I burst open the door and walked right up to the front of the class.

"I am Katlyne Amber. I come from Ringtown in the fiore region. I am very pleased to meet all of you." I signed, happy to see Miss April was translating for me.

"Oh, and does anyone here know sign language so they can translate for Kate here?" Miss April finished.

"I do! I would be happy to!" A pretty girl said. She was about my age with wavy blonde hair and deep blue-green eyes. She wore a little too much makeup too.

"Okay thanks Rythmi. Okay class, just for today I'll make this a free study class. Oh yes, and be nice to Kate too okay? I understand she did quite well on the entrance exam… why the big grin Keith?" Miss April finished with an inquiry. I looked where she was staring. Turns out Keith was a redhead. A spiky haired one at that.

"Nothing Miss April." Keith responded with a smirk. I was beginning to get annoyed with this guy. Miss April gave me a long lecture on the styler, which I just barely managed to stay awake for, and walked out of the class. I jumped back a tiny bit as I was surrounded by every member of the class.

"So you come from the Fiore region? I've never been there."

"What's your family like? Are they coming to Almia too?"

"Hey!" the redhead broke through the crowd. "I forgot your name, new kid, but how long did it take you to capture Pikachu? Like an hour?"

"Oh just ignore Keith. He's just a show-off. You should be friends with me instead. I'm not here to become a ranger, I am going to be an operator instead. That way when Keith becomes a ranger, I can order him around like my servant… just kidding!" Rythmi said.

Rythmi dragged me out of the room, and marched me down the hall. We stopped at a classroom right next to ours. The second I walked in, I was surrounded by an overwhelming smell. Who wore that much hair spray and got away with it?

"This is Mr. Kincaid." Rythmi whispered. "He's a little too strict for my liking. I'm sorry you have to smell all that hairspray."

"Me too." I signed. Never before did I believe that I might die at the hands of hairspray. I snorted at the thought.

Mr. Kincaid finally seemed to notice me. He looked at me.

"A new student? Fine, I have two rules that will serve you well here. Number one: No running in the hallways. Number two: Never cast suspicion upon others without proof."

I totally disagreed with rule one. I actually kind-of liked rule two. Anyways, I was dragged along by Rythmi towards the library.

"This is the library. Also known as Keith's nap room. Come on in."

I walked through the doors right to the back of the room. A blonde, mushroom haired boy seemed to be deeply lost in thought, but Rythmi had no trouble jolting the boy out of his trance.

"Hi, I'm Isaac. My IQ, and height, in centimeters are both 163. I was just doing a six digit multiplication in my head when you interrupted. It's no big deal though, I can just start over." The mushroom boy said.

I just stared as Rythmi introduced me. "Hi Isaac. This is our classes new transfer student, Kate. She came here alone from Fiore to become a ranger."

"Alone? What about your family? Surely they should've taken you here?" He said.

"Yeah, I've been curious about that too."

I gulped. How was I supposed to explain to them that I _had_ no family? I finally began to sign. "Well, I don't really have any family. I have lived with the Ringtown rangers for as long as I can remember."

"That can't be easy." Isaac said, biting his lip. He was obviously worried about how I would react. Either way, I was used to peoples' questions. I didn't even question how he knew sign language. He had an IQ of 163, after all.

Me and Rythmi continued on are way. We saw the staff room, with principle Lamont Splendidocious. (I learned not to ask peoples' full names.) She also introduced me to the caretaker lady, Janice, Mrs. Claire and Mr. Kaplan again. Thank goodness Mrs. Claire stopped Mr. Kaplan from going off on his silliness again. I liked jokes, but not like that.

We left the building, and I heard a scream. I saw nine bidoof come running around.

"Hey new kid, still forget your name, but let's make this a race. Whoever captures the most bidoof wins. Three…two…one… go!"

I leapt into action. I didn't care about the silly race, but the bidoof were upset, so I had to help. I was breathing heavily by the end. I'm not exactly the most athletic person in the world…

"Hey I caught uh, five! That means you caught uh… four! That means I win!" Keith did his ranger pose, which was a pretty cool backflip. Still, I wondered how long it would be 'till he fell and broke his back..?

"Hey anyways Kate, I was wondering. Your captures were pretty decent. I would rate them about 65 out of 100, pretty good for a nobody!"

I blushed. He was totally cute. I just hoped Rythmi didn't like him too…

"Hey Keith! You knew our new classmates name all along, didn't you, you little…" Rythmi began to rant. To be perfectly honest, I never expected such words to come out of a person as sweet as Rythmi. Oh well, you learn something new every day, right?

Rythmi turned to me. "That's right, I forgot to show you one last place. C'mon quick!"

"Hey, wait for me. Its ascension square right. I'll come too."

The three of us hurried down the stairs they showed me the magnificent pledge stone, and we decided to make a pledge.

"I pledge to become the best operator!"

"I pledge to become the best ranger!"

"I pledge to help people and Pokémon whenever, and wherever I'm needed."

We pumped our fists in the air, and before I knew it, my first day of ranger school was coming to an end…

**Please review! Any and all reviews are greatly appreciated. **


	3. Chapter 2: The Test of Courage

**Author's note: Thank you anyone who took the time to review. I will try my best to make longer and better chapters from now on. Thank you again.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, the characters, storyline, or whatever else I forgot. Thank you. **

**Chapter 2: The test of courage**

I was just about to get some sleep when Rythmi started talking. "Hey, you're not asleep yet, right. Okay good. C'mon, let's sneak out for a while."  
>I didn't like the idea of this. I may not be perfect, but I always try to play by the rules. And the rules specifically state not to go sneaking around after lights out. So I was even more shocked to see how many kids were out here. About eight or nine kids were standing around a table with sly looks on their faces.<p>

"Keep it down but yay!" They all screamed and jumped. If this was their idea of keeping it down, I really didn't want to know what loud was. Anyways, Rythmi explained to me what was going on.

"We have this thing for new students. It's a test of courage. Just consider it like an initiation ceremony, okay. The rules are simple. Four of us hid our stylers in four of the rooms. When you've found them all, take them to the basement, and come back up here." I nodded, and she continued. "It's not safe to go alone, so we have this rule, the person seated next to the initiate has to go too. That means you Keith."

"Aw, do I have to?" Keith whined, and I dragged him down the stairs. If I had to do this, might as well make it quick. We heard a cry that sounded like a pokémon's. Keith must have jumped at least five feet into the air, and I just stood there. He did know it was just a bidoof right? I sort-of hoped not. If he was scared of a bidoof, then he was even more afraid then I am!

He then turned to me. "You… you were scared too right?"

I just shook my head and pointed to the bidoof. I then gave him a look that said 'really dude?' Then it clicked in my head, he was afraid of the dark and ghosts! I figure I can't fault him for that though, mostly because I am too.

Anyways, we continued on our way to Miss April's room. I wanted to start there because it was the place that felt the safest. Now that was a mistake.

The second I walked in there, I heard two zubat screeching. Then ones' supersonic hit me. I felt dizzy and began walking in circles until I hit a wall. Ouch.

When I finally stopped seeing stars, I saw Keith standing over me, with a worried look on his face. I blushed. He was really cute.

"Uh sorry! Gosh, even our own classroom is scary at night!" He said as he jumped backward. I gave him a smile to let him know that I was fine, and everything else was okay.

"O-okay, so we have a hint for each room. This rooms' hint is… What wasn't here in the daytime?"

I looked around. Scattered around the room were about five crates, similar to the ones we used for target practice. 'Holy Arceus!' I thought, 'How did they manage to get this many crates in here behind I and the teachers backs! I guess some things are best left unsaid, or in this case, unknown.'

I ran back outside, totally and completely ignoring the "no running in the hallways" rule. I captured a bidoof and rushed back into the classroom.

I quickly found a crate that seemed different from the others, so I asked bidoof to crush the crate. I smiled and waved goodbye as the bidoof left, probably to try to scare another unsuspecting soul in the hallway.

Keith and I went back into the hallway. I captured the bidoof again just in case I needed it. I also captured a zubat for the same reason.

Then we went into Mr. Kincaid's room. Now _this_ was going to be fun.

"Let's see, the hint for this room is… follow your nose."

I looked at him. I mean, really Keith, "Follow your nose?" Then again, with all that hairspray… That's it, the hairspray! Mr. Kincaid always stood in the corner, which was where the hairspray was strongest. So the styler had to be in the corner.

I managed to avoid the zubat in this classroom, and found the styler up on a high shelf. We left the classroom and continued onwards to the library.

"M-man, even the library's creepy at night. Um, anyways, the hint for this room is… crush the crates." Keith shuddered. He really_ is_ afraid of the dark. Or is it ghosts? I guess either one is still a reasonable fear. Can fear be reasonable? I mean, once in a while, fear can be rational, but can it be reasonable. So much for not getting philosophical. Oops.

Um yeah…. Anyways, I asked bidoof to crush the crate, and he happily complied. I then found another bidoof in the classroom, and crushed the second crate. I smiled and turned to Keith.

"Good," he said, "Now there's only one room left. That room would be… the staff room. C'mon, hurry up. I don't have all day, or night actually. Though if you keep being so slow…" Keith stopped. I had left and was already in the staff room.

"Okay, okay, I get the point. The hint for this room is… the styler we hid here doesn't stay still. You understand, right?"

I nodded. I saw a pichu running around nervously. They must've given pichu the styler.

I captured pichu and took the styler from it. I turned to Keith.

"Now we go to the basement. Hurry up, will you?"

We left the staff room and proceeded to the basement. The second I stepped downstairs, I felt this confusing feeling. Where was I? My head felt so dizzy.

"Kate, are you okay? Kate!"

I saw everything go pitch-black. It was so dark. I could just barely hear a voice calling for me, but I couldn't respond.

(Keith's P.O.V, basement.)

"Kate, are you okay? Kate!" I felt so helpless. I couldn't do anything but watch her faint. It was strange too. I didn't feel anything, but this weird look crossed her face, almost as though she could sense something I couldn't.

Suddenly I heard a cry. Four gastly came out from the walls and attacked.

"Capture on!" I yelled as I began my capture. I have to admit, ghost pokémon are particularly difficult to capture. The way they fade in and out of view… it drives me crazy! I finally completed the capture. 'Weird though,' I pondered, 'gastly don't usually attack like that. It's almost as though they were under some kind of control…'

Just as I was about to open the door, it burst open on its own. Mr. Kincaid came out with a livid expression. "What are you doing here? Get out of here now!"

I picked up an unconscious Kate and ran. I only stopped when I got up to the area outside the dorms. Kate seemed to be coming around, so I put her down.

Rythmi looked worried.

"What happened?" She asked. "You were supposed to make sure nothing happened to her, idiot!"

I took a step back. Rythmi was really scary.

"Hey Kate," She began, "Come on with me. We can talk more tomorrow, okay? For now, you and I need some rest. Keith here will clean up." She shot me a look that said, 'you better or else' and I sure wasn't willing to mess with that.

Once I finally finished cleaning up, I found I still couldn't get to sleep. Something was bothering me. Something like why Kate and those gastly were all acting so strange. Still, I suspect tomorrow will have a lot of answers. It may be a hunch, but I still couldn't shake the feeling. The feeling that tomorrow would be one interesting day…

**Authors note: Thank you for reading this far! I hope you like it. Please review, and thank you so much!**


	4. Chapter 3: Family Day? What The?

**Author's note: This is actually my first story, so any reviews are greatly appreciated. If for some reason people like this, then I might write and post a story on either Pokémon Black/White or Pokémon Heartgold/Soulsilver. Oh, and thank you for reading this much of the story. I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, the story, the characters, or whatever else I forgot. Thank you.**

Chapter 3: Family Day! What The...?

(Keith's P.O.V)

Oh man, how am I going to explain today to Kate? Today is Family Day, where family and friends of students come to visit. Rythmi told me that Kate had no family, so I would feel super bad telling her. Still, I and Rythmi had a bet. I lost, so I have to tell her.

"Hey Kate?" I could hear my voice wavering as I knocked on her dorm. "C'mon out Kate! I want to talk to you about something."

Kate burst out of the dorm with a particularly irate look on her face.

"What is it.?! I was sleeping you know" She signed angrily.

"Sorry. Is there a place you and I can talk in private?"

"Sure, sorry." She signed. "Let's go to the meeting room then. There's something I want to talk about with you too."

I was rather curious at this point. Kate never really shared anything about herself with anyone. Then my head filled with dread. What if she was angry at me for not helping her more when we were in the basement?

We walked down to the staff room. I still can't believe how fast Kate walks. Well, it's more jogging than walking. Still though, I wonder if jogging counts as running? If so, everyone almost always ignores the "No running in the hallways" rule. Who cares about that stupid rule anyways? I certainly don't. I don't think anyone does actually. I have yet to meet one student other than Isaac that likes Mr. Kincaid as a person or teacher. I actually think Miss April hates him too, though I doubt she'd ever admit it.

"You first Kate." I didn't want to ruin her mood with what I was going to say. On a side note, I think she's really pretty, but highly doubt she'd ever feel the same. It's too bad really. She's super fantastic and nice too.

"Okay. I was kind of lying to Rythmi when I said I have no family. I actually have a brother, N. I haven't seen him in years though. I think he's traveling Unova now."

I just stared at her. So she did have family. I do wonder a little about her parents though. What parents would name one kid Katlyne and the other one N?

"Okay, that actually leads me right to what I wanted to talk to you about. You know how we don't really get to see our friends and family much. Well we actually have a special day to celebrate and see our friends. It's called Family day. I'm assuming you can tell where I'm going with this, it's today. I would've told you about it sooner, but I never really got the chance. Sorry Kate."

(Kate's P.O.V)

I forced myself to smile. I couldn't show any weakness. I still remember my old teacher's words, "You should just quit already Katlyne. You never have anything good to say anyways. You're too weak too. Just give up already."

I rushed off. I shouldn't, I'd vowed never to feel any emotion again. Logic was the only answer to my problems, but these stupid emotions started creeping back into my life. Ever since I met Rythmi and Keith, all the barriers I put up to protect myself from the world slowly broke down. I felt like I had a friend once, but she just betrayed me. People lie, plain and simple. In order to protect yourself, distance yourself. It is the only way.

I guess that would be why I like pokémon better than people. They don't lie. They are open and honest, yet kind and caring. They are uniquely perfect.

I finally stopped running. I was outside. We were allowed to be outside at this time, so I wasn't worried about getting in trouble. I stopped near the gate under a maple tree. I breathed in deeply. I looked over towards the main building. Of course, who did I see but Keith running towards me. Typical boys. They just don't know when to leave good enough alone. I guess I'm a little like that too. There was this one time when I was putting glitter on a card, it looked nice, but I decided there wasn't enough, so I put more on. I actually ended up putting the entire bottle on by accident. I guess that's just one more time in my life I wish I could yell "do over!" and get it right. Nobody can go back to the past and fix old mistakes though, so I guess I can't either. What a shame, yes indeed.

So anyways, Keith came rushing over with Rythmi right on his heels.

"Kate! You shouldn't run off by yourself! I was really worried. C'mon back with us and make it quick! You can meet our families if you hurry!"

I jumped up. "Cool, I can't wait!" I signed and then brushed back my hair. I hadn't had a chance to put it up yet, so it was flapping around in the wind. I mean, seriously, how annoying. I bet Rythmi never has a bad hair day, and Keith… it might as well be every day.

(Keith's P.O.V, present)

I was glad to see Kate was in a better mood. She is always so nice too everyone, so it's hard to imagine her ever getting time to work out her own problems. I think the nicer you are to people, the more likely it is you have a lot of inner turmoil. Kate's a perfect example. She is incredibly nice, but I highly doubt she ever really lets anyone know how she truly feels. It's kind-of a shame. I bet she could be a lot happier if she just let it all out sometime.

We walked up to the doors and went back inside. My little brother ran up to me and asked, somewhat insensitively, "Who's the girl with the ugly spiky hair?"

"Hey, Ronald, you shouldn't say stuff like that!" My mom said appearing out of Miss April's room. Oh yes, and Keith, I'm so very disappointed in you! A C- in every class! You're an embarrassment. Yes, and who's the girl with the spiky pigtails? She looks very nice. You should always introduce a friend!"

"Oh Miss, I'm Kate. It's a pleasure to meet you. And it's fine what Ronald said. But about those grades Keith…" Rythmi translated for Kate whilst I stood there stunned. I honestly never expected Kate to start commenting on my grades too! She gets like an A+ in every class, so I could always ask her for study help. Then again, Rythmi would tease me endlessly about all of the stuff I didn't know. I actually knew sign language for one of my other friends outside of school, so I didn't need Rythmi to translate. Thank goodness for that.

After we chatted with my family for a while, we walked over to Rythmi's. Both of her parents where there, so she introduced us to them. We stayed the rest of the night chatting, and I felt sad when everyone had to leave…

(Kate's P.O.V, past)

"N, don't go! Don't leave me all alone again!" I signed rapidly, hoping he would respond. I watched as a tear rolled down his cheek before he finally replied.

"I'm going to Unova, sis. Please don't make this any more difficult, I'm doing this to protect you. We both know who you really are, and what your destiny is. This is for you, sister. It's not goodbye. It's until we meet again…"


	5. Chapter 4: Outdoor Class, Crawford,

**Authors Note: I just want to say thank you to anyone who reviewed, it really means a lot. I will try to keep writing until this is finished. I also decided to write a slightly longer chapter this time. Oh, and I'll add a plot twist or addition from time to time, so don't be surprised if it strays a little (or a lot) from the game. By the way, italicized sentences are pokémon speech. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this. ****:) **

**Disclaimer: As much as I wish I did, I don't own pokémon, the game's storyline, the characters, or whatever else I forgot. Thank you.**

Chapter 4: Outdoor Class, Crawford, and Budew's voice!

"Okay class," Miss April began, "Does anyone know what day it is today?"

"Outdoor Class!" the entire class screamed and jumped out of their seats. Apparently Outdoor Class was a big deal around here. It was all the other kids had been talking about for weeks. I had noticed that Mr. Kincaid's class was far less excited than ours, and I think that's because our class is more motivated. Except for Isaac that is.

"Oh come on!" Keith began, "We wouldn't forget about Outdoor Class would we? We've only been looking forward to this I don't know… forever!"

"Yep, that's right Miss April! At the very least we know Keith won't! He told me he thought up 38 questions to ask the ranger!" Rythmi snickered. They had already been told a multitude of times that it was one question each, no exceptions.

"Well, how enthusiastic! Okay class, let's go outside. We'll gather in Ascension Square."

"Yahoo! I've waited so long for outdoor class!" Keith said, jumping out of his seat and running out of the room. I could hear his footsteps from a mile away, that's how much of a rush he was in.

"Did he really just say yahoo? He's way too excited about this. Well, see you there Kate. You know how to get there right?" Rythmi waited until I nodded before going. Now I was all alone in the room. It was kind of creepy to be alone, especially with the memory of a few weeks ago. I still wonder why there are pokémon here in the nighttime and not the day. I guess I can't know everything though.

After pondering that for a few moments, I left the room. I decided to see how the kids in Mr. Kincaid's class were doing. Some of them were my friends, so I liked to talk to them when I got the chance. Not even Mr. Kincaid was in the room. I left to go to the library, waving hello to the bidoof in the hallway.

When I finally got to the library, I stopped at the rancid smell of hairspray. It had to be Mr. Kincaid, who else wore that much hairspray? He turned towards me.

"I would've expected you to be at Outdoor Class. Whatever, students are free to participate or not in Outdoor Class. There are much more important things. Such as obeying rules. Running in the hallways, sneaking into the basement… such breaches of rules aren't to be tolerated." Mr. Kincaid wore a stern look on his face as he said that. He was obviously trying to make a point about something. I had no clue what. He had been like this since the Test of Courage though, so I guess I had to have done something wrong that night.

I couldn't remember much though. Nothing other than hearing a gastly calling for help, and then waking up in the dorm with Rythmi looking worried. She wouldn't tell me much though. Neither would Keith, for that matter. It was obvious they felt they'd done something wrong though. Whatever, it didn't matter much anyways.

I walked over to a boy with teal spiky hair. He was looking sad about something. I tapped on his shoulder, and waved a hello. He didn't respond, obviously lost deep in thought. I tapped harder. He finally looked at me with a stunned look on his face.

"You must be Kate! I'm Ponte, it's a pleasure to meet you. Hey Isaac, come over here a sec' I need your help translating for Kate."

Isaac walked over with a grin on his face. "So you finally met the conflicted marshmallow boy, Kate." I looked at him quizzically. Why would he call Ponte something like that?

"Hi, I'm Katlyne Amber. I come from Ringtown in Fiore, but I'm originally from Unova." I signed as Isaac translated. I always felt badly when people translated for me, as if I was a burden. I knew Rythmi and Keith didn't mind, but I felt badly with everyone else.

"Unova, huh. Then Ringtown. Oh! Have you met my brother Lunick? I wanted to become a ranger to be like him. Although now I'm not so sure, it's a lot of effort and a lot to live up to." Ponte said with exasperation. "And Outdoor Class! What should I do? I don't know if I really, from the bottom of my heart, want to be a ranger anymore." I looked at him sadly. It had to be difficult to have a brother like that to live up to. Even though it was Solana who'd saved Fiore in the past, Lunick is her partner, and he played a very important role in all that too. I couldn't really understand how he felt. My brother left when I was seven, and I've been on my own since then until that fire. I shivered thinking about Cyndi. I still felt horrible about that.

"Oh, it's Outdoor Class today? Sorry, but I'm not attending. I need to look up something here." Isaac said. He looked kind of sad. I suspected that Mr. Kincaid was having Isaac do something for him when Isaac really wanted to go to Outdoor Class.

Isaac walked away, and I left to see the staff room. To be perfectly honest, I was just procrastinating. I was a little afraid of seeing a ranger other than that of my Ringtown friends. There was nobody there, so I decided to finally go to Ascension Square. I saw Rythmi and Keith waiting somewhat impatiently at the stairs.

"Hey Kate! Hurry up, the ranger's here already and Outdoor Class is about to start! We've been waiting like, I don't know… forever!"

We rushed down the stairs and immediately I saw a tall, gangly ranger with a huge explosion of an afro.

_Yay! I can't believe I'm meeting you, Lady of The Moon! You really are as special as the legends say! Yay! _I gulped. As usual, I was glad the others couldn't understand pokémon speech. Otherwise they might have realized who I really am. It's kind of a long story.

"Well budew, you've rather taken a liking to this girl, haven't you? Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I'm Crawford and this is my partner Budew. It's a pleasure to meet you."

He turned to everyone else. "Sorry about that! I'm Crawford. I'm a graduate of this ranger school, and now I work as a ranger in Vientown. This is my partner Budew, and my friend pokémon."

"Wow so cool!" half of the class said whilst the other half said, "Thanks for coming!"

"Hi Crawford, long time no see!" Miss April began, "But that giant explosion of an afro… I don't like seeing that much of a jumbled up overgrowth of anything! But that's enough of that! We're all here so let's begin! The Question and Answer Session of Terror has now officially begun!"

"Crawford, why did you decide to become a ranger?" One kid asked.

"Well, it's because I love pokémon. I wanted to become friends with them. To you know, bond with them. Besides, it's a cool job!"

"That's the same way I feel! I'm so glad I asked you!"

"I have a question!" One girl said waving her hands frantically. "What kinds of pokémon are difficult to capture?"

"Well, speaking only for myself… psychic and ghost group pokémon, yeah. They have this habit of going poof and disappearing during captures."

"Ghost pokémon do that?!"

"Me! I'm next! My name is Rythmi. There isn't anything I'd rather do than become an operator! You can tell if I will become one, right?"

"I'm only seeing you for the first time ever, so it's not like I know but… sure thing! No problemo! You'll become an operator alright!"

"Rythmi, aren't you confusing our ranger for a fortune teller? Anyways, how about me? Will I become a ranger?"

"Say, aren't you confusing me with a fortune teller too? But I can tell this about you: your strong will shines through loud and clear! I'm sure you'll make it. But that's only if you can avoid spinning your own wheels, so to speak."

"My turn! Have you ever made any mistakes?"

"Mistakes, you ask? That's all there was at the beginning. Like the time I dumped juice all over my styler. That was nasty. Or when I tried to capture a stuffed doll. And another time I put on my ranger uniform on top of pajamas… wait! Don't make me say these things!" We all laughed. I couldn't believe a real ranger made all these mistakes, it sounded like something I would do! Wait, oh. Wasn't I trying to become a real ranger?

"What makes you glad you became a ranger?"

"I'd have to say the big smiles we get to see after helping people or pokémon."

"I hope I get to see smiles like that soon!"

I suddenly felt a splitting headache. I wandered towards the water. That was where it was coming from. A pokémon- a pokémon was in trouble!

"Kate! Are you okay? Kate!" I heard Keith say as I fell face-down in the dirt. I couldn't even lift my hand to reply to him. As Keith lifted me up to carry me indoors, I heard Crawford receive a voicemail.

"Voicemail! Voicemail! Crawford do you hear me? It's me, Barlow. There's a mantine hurt of the eastern shore of School Island! The mantine apparently ran into a cargo ship. Luana's headed to the school by boat for you. Join up with her, and head out to the site immediately. We're going to need your help on this one!"

"Roger leader! I'm on it!"

I was just barely able to see Crawford jump on that boat before I blacked out…

(Kate's P.O.V, memory)

"Be careful Kate. Pokémon will sense who you are and call out to you for help. Learn to recognize it, not feel it."

"But daddy! Why do pokémon sometimes attack you when I'm with you?"

"They think we are holding you against your will. You are someone very special, Lady of The Moon's Light. Your destiny is to save a region very far from here. That region's name is…"

"Hey! Why are you here! Stop! Leave my family alone! Please! Leave my family alone..!" I begged the people.

(Kate's P.O.V, present)

I jolted awake, my face wet with tears. It was just a nightmare, nothing more. Stupid memories, the past is the past! I shouldn't care! But I did, and nobody could ever erase the sadness and pain in my past. And you know what people say about the past. History will always repeat itself…

**Please review! I'm sorry if this chapter was really bad/confusing. I hope you like it anyways! And thank you so much for reading this much! It means more than anything!**


	6. Chapter 5: Stolen Stylers, and the

**Author's note: I'm glad people seem to be liking this! (And by-the-way, this is**** not**** a Sailor Moon crossover, (you might think so later in the chapter, so I put this here.) I will try to update frequently, but other stuff might get in the way sometimes, sorry. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thank you for reading this, ~ leafybreeze**

**Disclaimer: I do not own pokémon, the game's storyline, the characters, or whatever else I forgot. It's probably a good thing I don't though, because I am horrible at math!**

Stolen Stylers, and the Key to the Moon

(Keith's P.O.V, present)

I was pretty worried. Kate had been acting pretty strange lately, and I wondered if there was something she'd not told us. Ever since that Outdoor Class, she had hardly ever come out of the dorms except for class. Rythmi and I had tried to talk to her, but she seemed really solemn and wouldn't respond. I wondered what had happened to her. I was going to ask her if everything was alright in class today. I had to, I was worried sick.

Suddenly I bumped into a creepy dude in a purplish-white lab coat. He looked at me, a shocked look coming over his face. Then he bolted, he was pretty fast! I rushed after him, fully ignoring the "no running in the hallways" rule, and completely oblivious to the fact of class starting without me…

(Kate's P.O.V, class)

"Everyone, your attention please." Miss April began, "Do you remember mantine that Crawford went to rescue during our Outdoor Class? The Ranger Union took it in and nursed it back to health. This morning, the mantine was safely returned to the sea!"

"Yay! The whole class shouted and I signed. We were all majorly happy to hear that the mantine was okay. Especially me, because I could sense its distress. The poor thing must have been hurt pretty badly. Poor mantine…

"Now that we're all feeling good about that news, let's get our lesson started. Today, as scheduled, the topic is teamwork between rangers and operators. If there is no trust between a ranger and an operator, it's disastrous. Even a simple mission could become impossible to manage. Rangers go where there are no roads to guide them. It's the job of operators to light the way for rangers where no roads exist. Of course, that doesn't mean literally holding a flashlight for rangers in the field. Operators support rangers in other ways, like recharging their stylers. Not only that, operators provide rangers with information and advice. Operators reach out to rangers all over from the Union's Operation Room. Does anyone know what they call that operation system?" Finally! Miss April stopped talking! I knew what the system was called, everyone did, but I could sense Rythmi's strong desire to answer emanating from her.

"Yes!" Rythmi practically screamed, "It's called voicemail!"

"Correct, however, your school styler is not equipped with the voicemail function. Oh, and don't worry Kate. There is video as well as audio if you need it." Miss April smiled. I suppose she's trying to make me feel better, but it only makes me feel worse. Again, I really don't want to feel like a burden.

I watched as Miss April pulled something out of a small red case. We all gasped. It was two real stylers! Like the kind real, official rangers use! How in the name of Arceus had Miss April managed to swing_ this_ one?

"But look here!" Miss April said, as though we weren't all already, "I have two stylers with the voicemail function already turned on! We were able to borrow them specially from the Ranger Union. Principle Lamont, who was there on business, had to ask for them himself. We'll use them today to demonstrate the field operations of rangers. Let's start with Rythmi playing the operator and Keith the ranger."

"Um, Miss April? Keith isn't here yet." Rythmi said nervously. I was wondering though, how in Arceus's name had Miss April not noticed that Keith was missing from class? Not only did she usually notice everything, but Keith usually would've yawned _at the very least_ twenty times by now!

"Oh, okay. How unusual. Anyways, let's have Kate play the ranger. Here, take this Kate." Miss April said as she handed me the styler. I couldn't believe it! I was holding a real rangers styler!

"Wow! I can communicate using this! Awesome! Hello, can you hear me? This is Rythmi, come in ranger!"

"You speak too loudly Rythmi, I can hear you a mile away anyhow!" I signed towards the styers' camera.

Rythmi paused a moment before continuing, "…huh? You can hear me loud and clear anyways? Well then, we should get farther apart."

I rushed towards the doorway and knocked right into Mr. Kincaid. Ouch, what did he wear under his clothes anyway? It was like, a suit of armor. I quickly scrambled to get up, and signed an apology, he just gave me a look.

"Hey! No running in the classrooms either! Ah, Miss April, I'm terribly sorry to interrupt your class." Mr. Kincaid said as he pushed past me and walked up to Miss April.

"However, there is a small matter of which I would like to speak with Keith."

'Uh, oh!' I thought, 'what if this has something to do with us sneaking into the basement! Or worse, what if he's discovered who I really am, and is talking to my friends one by one, slowly turning them against me…' while I was panicking with that, Miss April and Mr. Kincaid had continued talking.

"Late, you say? You see, we have a problem on our hands. We had a number of stylers stored in the staff room. Had, I say. Now the entire lot of them has disappeared. I have already confirmed the innocence of all my students concerning this. But that Keith boy is uncharacteristically absent from class, you say… perhaps it's taking him time to find a place to "stash" all those stolen stylers." As Mr. Kincaid said that, Rythmi and I dashed over.

"Mr. Kincaid! Keith may be a jerk and a prankster, but he sure as Arceus ain't no thief!" Rythmi said and I nodded. I probably would have used a word other than jerk though, but oh well…

"Oh do be still!" Mr. Kincaid exclaimed. "He runs in the hallways, he sneaks into the basement where he's not permitted…it's only natural that he should be viewed with suspicion!"

"He isn't a thief, you jerk! And what motive would he have anyways!" I signed to rapidly and angrily that even Rythmi couldn't translate.

"Do stop!" Mr. Kincaid said, "It's not like I can understand you anyways!"

"Mr. Kincaid, don't you think that's a little harsh? And besides which, isn't what you always preach to not cast suspicion upon others without proof? Where's your proof in this situation? May I have a little time? I will go look for Keith and you missing stylers."

"Miss April, I'll help too!"

"Yeah, we'll all help!"

As everyone gathered around Miss April, I motioned for Rythmi to follow me. I closed my eyes and read the aura of the surrounding area. Outside, Keith was outside! I rushed towards there, with Rythmi in close pursuit. I stopped at the gates to the outside world. There was Keith and a weird guy in a pale purplish lab coat.

The man turned away to run, but crashed into a tree. A slakoth fell on top of his head. We all giggled, then I put on a serious face.

I quickly captured the slakoth with only six or seven circles of my styler. I released the slakoth, who had a huge, wide grin on his face.

Suddenly the man turned towards me. He had a wicked smile on his face. "So Lady of the Moon. Are _you_ really the key to the Moon Temple? How pathetic! He pulled out a long, machine with a small circular opening. "First I'll eliminate your friend, then I'll capture you, Moon girl!"

He hit a button on the machine, and a pulse of circular energy came out. I pushed Keith out of the way, and took the full force of the attack myself. I just barely managed to get up after that. I put my two hands together, and a sphere of aura came. I pushed the aura towards him, and he disappeared in a flash of light. I walked over to Keith, and fell into his arms…

**Thanks for reading this! Please review, I really appreciate it! I'm really sorry that Kate pretty much faints at the end of every chapter, but I have a plan for this later on, so just you wait! *Evil laugh* Um, sorry. Uh, anyways, I hope you liked this! **


	7. Chapter 6: The Truth About Kate

**Author's note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Here are the answers to your questions and personal thank you's.**

· **Squirtle-chan, that must have been really difficult. I actually made Kate mute because of nerve damage (at birth, so she's never been able to say anything), and also because I figure that is the only plausible explanation for why your character only "says" yes or no. It also adds a lot of depth to the story, and have you ever noticed that when your character communicates as more than yes or no, they are moving their hands and the screen blacks out. (I was actually planning to include this later, so sorry to make you wait!)**

· **Sakura Touko, thanks for reviewing so often, I'm glad you like it!**

· **Farla, thanks for all the grammar help! I'm really glad for all of that! (I am 98.765% certain I haven't made any of those mistakes again, I check every time)**

**Disclaimer: I really do not own pokémon, the games storyline, characters, or whatever else I forgot. I really wish I did though, then the characters would have more depth and empathic tendencies. **

Chapter 6, The Truth About Kate

(Keith's P.O.V)

I just stared in shock as Kate collapsed into my arms. What had that guy said? Something about a Lady of the Moon and the Moon Temple? It sounded like some legend I'd heard as a little kid.

(Flashback)

"And so the Lady of the Moon used up all of her power, saving Darkrai and all of Almia from certain doom. She turned back into a pokémon, and vowed she would always protect Almia. She then fell to the ground, to appear again one day…" Keith's mom stopped reading and smiled. "How'd you like it honey?"

"Mom, why would that girl in the story die to save Darkrai?"

"She cared deeply for Darkrai, as he was her brother. Someday you will feel that way for your own little brother."

"But mom! Wasn't Darkrai a pokémon?"

"That girl was a pokémon too. A pokémon and a human. That girl's real name was…"

(Keith's P.O.V, present)

"Cresselia!" I said, jumping out of my seat.

"Keith, were you daydreaming again?" Miss April asked, "You should be paying attention to the lesson!"

"That doesn't matter! C'mon Rythmi! Hurry up!" I said and dragged Rythmi out of the room. We were going to see Kate…

(Kate's P.O.V, present)

The second I saw Rythmi and Keith coming, I knew they knew. They knew I was Cresselia.

(Half an hour later)

"Why didn't you tell us Kate, you know you can trust us?" Keith looked at me with a concerned smile. "I promise I will keep your secret, okay?"

Rythmi nodded too. I wondered how I could have ever not trusted them. They were my two best friends, and I would trust them with my life! So why was I still so hesitant to tell them everything?

I breathed in deeply. It was time to open doors I never knew were closed. It was time to tell them about the Moon Temple.

"The story didn't have it entirely right you know. They forgot the most important detail, the Moon Temple." I began to sign, knowing this would be a very long story to tell. "It was a long time ago, in a region very far from here. I was raised in a very tiny village by the ocean. There I was taught my powers of controlling aura and telepathy, stuff like that, you know. I also learned of my destiny, to save the Almia region. When I was five, my brother took me to the Moon Temple. It was there he taught me to call upon my guardian pokémon form, Cresselia. I am the only one with the power to control the forces of the Moon Temple, and that's why that creepy guy was after me. I don't know how he knew I was here though, I haven't used my powers enough to be able to tell where I am by that, oh yes, and please don't tell anyone about this. Especially not Mr. Kincaid, he has a malicious aura…"

(No-one's P.O.V)

Little did any of them know, Mr. Kincaid was listening outside of the door, plotting his next move…

(Kate's P.O.V, two days later)

"You all excited for one day internships? Here, you will be going tomorrow, so take your assignments and study them carefully. Thank you."

I stared at Miss April. I was super excited. As the letter landed on my desk, I ripped open the envelope. 'whew,' I thought, 'I was going with Keith…"

**Sorry, I know this was really short. I will make the next chapter much longer, okay? Please review, and thank you for reading this much. Have a great day! **


	8. Chapter 7: The One Day Interns!

**Author's note: I will probably rewrite the prologue soon, as it horrible and very, very short. I also wanted to say that I decided to post a story on Heartgold/Soulsilver! This will still take precedence though, as I love the pokémon ranger games ****_way_**** more. (No offense to people who prefer the main games, it's just my personal opinion.) I hope everyone will look forward to seeing those! Ah yes, and as always, thank you to anyone who took the time to read and/or review this! I appreciate feedback, good, bad, or indifferent. Oh yeah, and underlined speech is telepathy. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own pokémon, the game's storyline, the characters, or whatever else I forgot. I promise you if I did, the ranger series would be the main games. There would be a lot more of them too. ****:)**

Chapter 7: The One Day Interns!

(Kate's P.O.V, present day, too early in the morning)

"Wake up Kate! C'mon, wake up! You'll be late for class if you don't, and you don't want to see Miss April angry," I heard Rythmi yell to me. I jumped out of bed and thrust on my school uniform. I had a habit of waking up late for stuff, especially on the really important days. Ah! Today was the One Day Internship!

To be honest, I still can't believe I've survived five weeks of getting up early for this. Miss April hasn't even gotten mad at me once, but I suspect that she is just being nice. I don't know why though, maybe because I have been overly cautious not to break the rules since the night we snuck into the basement. Maybe she wasn't just being nice?

As I pondered that, I looked at the time on the watch my mother had given me when I was little. It was 7:25 already! I only had five minutes to get to class! I pushed my watch into my pocket, and rushed down the stairs and into class. I smiled and sat down in my seat, just before Miss April started roll-call.

"Is everyone here? Okay. If you all know your assignments, then I suggest you get going. Some of you have a rather long ways to go, so please be careful," Miss April said. Seemingly unsatisfied with everyone's reaction, she continued. "I also expect a report on everything, so you better pay attention!"

The entire class groaned. We all knew that if we were to become real rangers, we would have a report expected of us for every mission. That_ so_ didn't make writing them any more fun though, especially with the strict grammatical format Miss April enforced.

I rushed over to Keith, "Are you excited about today," I signed.

"Totally! I wouldn't miss it for the world, Katie." I gave Keith my death glare. I absolutely abhor when people call me Katie. I'm pretty sure that's why he calls me that though. He is one of those people who likes to annoy people. I've met a fair few of those though, and I know how to deal with them. If you annoy them right back, they never know how to take it. It is super funny.

"Me too, redhead," I signed with a smirk. Seeing his face become livid was totally worth it. Especially when it almost matched the color of his red hair! Now _that's_ priceless.

I sneaked out of the class before Keith could get over being called a redhead. I then went to Mr. Kincaid's room to say hi to Isaac and Ponte.

"Oh hi Kate," Ponte said. "I was hoping to see you before you go. You know, I'm so jealous of Isaac. He gets to intern at the prestigious Altru Inc. I heard Mr. Kincaid asked Altru's president himself! You do know Altru Inc., right?" I shook my head. I just moved here, so what did Ponte really expect?

"Okay," Ponte said as he shoved a newspaper in my face. "Look here, the entire article's on Altru Inc."

I looked carefully at the newspaper. I didn't manage to see much before Ponte, the newspaper still in his hand, rushed away to ask Mr. Kincaid something. I walked over to Isaac, hoping to learn more about Altru. What I actually learned was quite surprising.

"Rythmi, will you ever like me back? Rythmi, I want to tell you something," Isaac was muttering stuff about Rythmi under his breath. As I backed away that moment, seeing how dejected Isaac seemed, I made a vow. I vowed that somehow, I would get the two of them together.

(Keith's P.O.V, present)

How long was Kate going to take? I had been waiting here what seemed like forever. The previous day, we had both agreed that we would meet just outside the entrance to the school, but I was beginning to think she forgot. If she wasn't here in another minute or two, then I'd have no choice but to leave without her. Rythmi had already left to go to the Ranger Union, so I was waiting all alone. Just as I was about to leave without her, Kate showed up, breathing heavily.

"I'm so sorry I'm late! I got caught up in something, and before I knew it, it was 8:00," Kate signed nervously. She must have been pretty nervous about how I would react after the whole redhead thing. The more I thought back on that though, the more it was seriously funny.

We both walked down the stairs towards the gates. I saw little Tim, looking like he was playing hide-and-seek with some bidoof.

"Hi little Tim! Are you playing hide and seek with those bidoof," I asked.

"Oh golly no," he replied with angst, "These here bidoof are tryin' to maul me!"

Kate looked at me funny. "The bidoof mean no harm, so why is he so afraid? They only want some of the miltank milk he's carrying," She signed.

I nodded to her, our signal for "time to capture". It's time to capture some bidoof.

(Kate's P.O.V, present)

The bidoof were even more confused than I am, I think. Keith seemed to know this guy though, so I suppose I could trust him a little. I saw Keith nod to me, so I guess I should capture a bidoof to calm it down.

'Capture On,' I thought as I started the capture. It was fairly easy like all bidoof, except for the fact that it had become so agitated it was attacking. Either way, it only took about six or seven loops to capture it. I gave the bidoof a hug, then released it. I honestly haven't met a single person or pokémon yet who doesn't like hugs. I'm sure I will someday, but I haven't yet.

Little Tim continued on his way up to the school, and me and Keith waved goodbye. Now we were all alone, with just a gentle breeze alongside us. I smiled as I took his hand, and we continued towards the bridge. We rushed over the second we saw a little girl crying.

"Big brother, where are you big brother," the girl asked. I was surprised to see Isaac walking over with a concerned look.

"Melody! Why are you here? You know you're supposed to stay in Pueltown," Isaac said. The girl stopped crying and looked at him.

"Big brother," she said, "I was coming to see you! I couldn't wait to see you again! Yeah, and shouldn't you introduce me to your friends?"

"Oh yes, right," Isaac began, "These are my friends Kate and Keith. Kate, Keith, meet Melody."

"Are they a couple yet," asked Melody earnestly. Me and Keith blushed bright red, and pulled our hands away from one another. We rushed away as Isaac told Melody not to ask questions like that in front of people. What I was wondering was, does that make it okay to ask behind someone's back?

We finally arrived in Vientown. I could feel the cool November air swirling past us, and smell the wonderful smells of autumn. It sure reminded me of Fall City.

When we got to the Ranger Base, Keith yelled out an apology for us being late. There looked like there was no-one there, but the place's aura had a pervasive sense of presence. I walked over to the place where an operator would normally be, and knocked loudly on the desk. Keith came rushing over.

"Why'd you do that Kate? It's not like there's anyone here..."

"Yes there is," Said an operator with dark teal hair. "My name's Shannon. I am the operator here. The others had to go off on an important mission. They left me a package for you to deliver, it was too heavy for them to carry there in such a rush. Here." She thrust me a letter and Keith a package. I opened the letter and showed it to Keith. It read,

_Dear Keith and Kate,_

_This is a very important parcel crucial to our mission. You must deliver it to Breeze Hill, which is across the beach and up a flight of stairs. The contents are very, very sensitive, and so you must never, ever shake it. Also, on no occasion should you ever turn it upside-down. _

_Thank you for your assistance, Barlow, Luana, Crawford, and Elaine._

Keith thanked the operator for us, and we left to head to Breeze Hill. Along the way, I stopped. I sensed this was some kind of prank, so I told Keith. He just rolled his eyes and asked me how it could be a prank. You know, this is one of those times I wonder why I even bother.

As we took up the flight of stairs I heard voices. I was super jittery. Keith took my hand, and we walked up the flight of stairs together.

(Keith's P.O.V, present)

Poor Kate was so nervous she was shaking. I took her hand and gave her my most reassuring smile. Just to be clear, I was quite nervous too.

The second we walked up there, the group fell silent. A stout, muscular man with a smile walked over to us.

"Hello, I'm Barlow. These are Luana and Elaine, and you've already met Crawford. Now on to the important part. I expect the parcel is safe."

"Yes sir," I said with a nod. I then handed him the parcel. It was rather heavy, so it was a relief to (literally) get it off my hands. I watched as he plunked the parcel down and said, "Lunch is here!"

I looked at him in shock. Everyone, including Kate was falling over laughing. "Got you," they laughed. I really should have heeded Kate's warning. But hey, I could always appreciate a good prank.

(Kate's P.O.V, present)

We got Keith good. Yes, I was in on it too. I had asked Crawford after Outdoor Class that when and if Keith and I were stationed here for our internship, if he could think up a good prank to play on Keith. I tried to give Keith a small chance of not being fooled, but he was completely oblivious. Hey, what else is new?

We finished eating lunch and were just packing up to leave when a beach-boy came running up to us in a panic.

"My girlfriend," he said, "These pokémon came up to her and surrounded her! I can't get them to calm down! Please rangers, help her!"

"Okay guys, looks like lunch will be put on hold. You two help too," Barlow said. We all rushed down to the beach. I spotted a starly in a panic, so I decided to capture it. Once everyone had completed their captures, we all gathered again up on the hill. I was surprised to see it was already getting dark.

"Hey, you should release that starly," Luana said.

"I already did," I signed, "But she decided to follow me."

I was happy to see that Keith was translating for me. It was always awkward talking when people had no clue what you were saying. I knelt down and gave the starly a gentle hug.

_Don't make me leave you! _

I was shocked to hear starly say that. Pokémon like helping rangers, but are usually only too happy to get on with their lives afterwards.

I'm sorry starly. Maybe we can see each other again someday. I watched sadly as starly flew away. I wondered if we would ever meet again someday.

"Well, as it's getting late, I think you two should head back to school. We'll worry about cleaning up. So bye," Barlow said.

(At the School Bridge)

We found Rythmi waiting for us when we returned. She was as bubbly and chatty as usual, but I couldn't get my mind off off starly.

"… and then Professor Hastings kept calling me Misery! I couldn't believe that! I mean, how similar are Rythmi and Misery," Rythmi said.

'Well' I thought, 'at least life will always keep going on. Good times, and bad, they always keep on moving on. Life is always going to be a challenge, but at least I have friends now.'

What I never even thought about was, what would happen when I completed my mission. My mission to save Almia.

**I hope this was long enough for you. By the way, I need names, both male and female for random people like the operators and such. If you have any, please leave them in a review, and if I do use them, I will be sure to include a blurb at the top saying who made them! Anyways, thank you for reading this far, and as always, please review. ****:)**


	9. Chapter 8: Goodbye Is the Beginning

**Author's note: I want to warn people that in my mind, for this story to be a tragedy, someone has to die. I'm not saying who, but somebody has to. So please be prepared. Yeah, and I hope you have a fabulous new year, (sorry it's a little late.) Anyway, thank you to anyone who took the time to review. Of course, thank you to everyone reading this as well. :) **

**Disclaimer: I don't own pokémon, the character, the game's storyline, or whatever else I forgot. Thank you.**

Chapter 8: Goodbye Is the Beginning

(Kate's P.O.V, 3:38 am, graduation day)

I just can't sleep. No matter how hard I try, I just can't. Maybe it's because I overheard Miss April talking to Mrs. Claire. She was saying that I would be in a separate region from Keith and Rythmi. I wasn't sure how I would manage without my two best friends, and especially without them translating. I even overheard her say that it might be too difficult for me to be a ranger with my past, and that she wasn't sure why Principle Lamont was willing to admit me knowing that. I haven't told Rythmi and Keith everything yet, it's just too difficult to talk about. Even before the fire, even before my brother left me, I was still an orphan. I could never forgive those people for what they did.

As I thought about that, I quickly found myself crying. I rarely cried, as I usually tried to keep all of my emotions hidden, even from myself. I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes, but they just reappeared. I flung myself back down on my bunk, and I cried myself asleep.

(8:30 am, graduation day)

"Okay class, it's time for graduation. If you have friends in other classes, now would be the time to see them," Miss April said. She smiled at us, then added, "But make sure to come back before the bell rings." We nodded, and got up out of our seats. I went over to talk to one of the girls in my class, Gina.

"Is it just me, or are the boys like, totally more emotional," Gina said with a laugh. I grinned, it was totally true. In fact, just earlier today, I heard Keith crying about having to leave everybody. Not like I can really say anything after last night though. I must have been crying for at least half an hour before finally succumbing to sleep.

"Hey Kate, come over here. Oh yeah, and gather up Rythmi while you're at it." Keith rapidly gestured for me to come over. I dragged Rythmi along, and we went upstairs to a small quiet table. For a moment, we were all quiet, caught up in the painful reality that this might be the last we see of each other. I think we were all struggling to fight back tears. We had become so close, it was like we'd known each other our entire lives. I personally felt like I was breaking in two. I had never felt like there were people who cared about, or understood me, not other than Keith or Rythmi. They are my two best friends, and I think I might even have a crush on Keith, even though I know it only hurts to care. My past has taught me that.

Rythmi finally spoke, "We wanted to thank you Kate." I stared at her. If anyone should be thanking anyone, it was I who should be thanking them. They translated for me, helped me with studying, and cared more than anyone I'd ever met.

"I should be thanking you," I signed. They both shook their heads.

"We figured you'd say that," Keith said, "But we just wanted to say this. You are the most incredible, kind person we've ever met. Everyone here was so secluded before you came. You brought us together, and you made life better for everyone. Especially Rythmi and I, the two of us _hated_ each other before you came. But you, you…" Keith gulped, at a loss for words.

"You made us realize something, Kate. You made us realize that life is too limited to be hateful. You made us realize the importance of friends, and that friends are family. You taught us such selflessness and compassion. You are truly amazing, and we wanted to say that no matter what, we will never forget you, and everything you've taught us. This is for you." Rythmi handed me a pretty box.

I tentatively lifted the lid, and stood shocked at what was inside. There was a photo album. I flipped open the lid and found myself crying at the pictures. They were of me and all my school friends. We were smiling and laughing, and I could feel the difference between this and pictures of me before I came here. In my old photos I was frail, sickly and shy. I never smiled, and you could tell I had no friends. I was a mess, no lies.

I flung myself into their arms. When we finally pulled away, I managed to sign one thing before bursting into tears again, "Thank you. This means more than you'll ever know. Thank you so much."

` I was able to spend only a few more minutes crying before the bell rang. Its loud chime jolted me out of my emotional reverie. The three of us rushed downstairs to end up just in time for graduation. We lined up in the pre-selected order, and waited for Principle Lamont to begin the speech.

"We are gathered here today not just for celebrating graduating your rigorous training here, but also for acknowledging the friendships and kindness each of you have shown each other. Now Mr. Kincaid, if you please." Principle Lamont wiped a tear from his eye. I guess this wasn't just an emotional day for students, but staff too.

"Thank you Principle Lamont. Now for this class's valedictorian, Isaac."

Isaac gave a long speech about thanking pretty much everyone and everything, including the library books. Well, whatever.

Miss April came over and began to speak, "And finally, let us present the certificate to our class representative, Katlyne!"

I began to take tentative steps over. This had to be a dream. It had to. Pretty much every kid wanted to be class representative, there was even a legend that every class representative went on to become an incredible ranger. I finally managed to get my legs to move me over there, when two tangrowth burst out of the basement. Everybody jumped and ran away. Poor Miss April was panicking, apparently she really didn't like seeing this much of a jumbled-up overgrowth of anything.

I nodded to Keith, and we began our captures. I could hear people holding their breath behind us, and I knew I couldn't fail now. It took a lot of energy, but I managed to capture the tangrowth. Afterwards, everyone cheered for us. The ceremony continued, but I just didn't feel right. I had had the same dizzy, confused feeling I'd felt when I was in the basement that time.

(3:45, goodbye)

I waved goodbye to my two best friends. I fought the tears back, and smiled as I watched their boat become distant on the horizon. I went back inside to pack my bags, and I was willing to start a new chapter in my life. Goodbye is the beginning, the beginning of a new journey. Good, bad, it didn't matter. Goodbye isn't always bad, and in this case, it's until we meet again…

**Author's note: I hope you enjoyed this. Sorry it took me a while to update, I've been kind-of busy. I hope this wasn't too bad, and please review. Thanks for reading, and have a great day.**


	10. Chapter 9: Noises in the Beach Cave

**Author's note: Time for personal thank you-s!**

· **Sakura Touko: I'm really glad you like this! Thank you for reviewing so often, and I'm sorry if it's kind-of sad. It's the season I get depressed (as in actual depression), so I'm kind-of getting my feelings out. :)**

· **Caramel Hearts: I update as frequently as possible, but I do have school, friends and planning. ****_Lots_**** of planning for college, finishing high school and becoming a singer/author. If you can see, I don't have heaps of spare time. I promise I will do everything I can to finish this though. :)**

· **Squirtle-chan: I glad that answered your question. Thank you for reading this. :D**

**Thank you to everyone reading this. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I definitely do not own pokémon, the characters, the games storyline, or whatever else I forgot. Thank you.**

Chapter 9: Noises in the Beach Cave

(Kate's P.O.V, seven years old)

"No," I signed, "this can't be true. They can't be, they just cannot be dead."

"I'm really sorry Katie, I really am. I promise you I will always be there for you," My brother N said. I looked at him. Why would he say that! I couldn't believe him! Mom and dad couldn't be dead, they just couldn't. I began to cry, this wasn't supposed to happen.

Those people are unforgivable. They would go to any length to achieve their ends. They didn't care how many people they killed, injured and maimed just to get what they want. They were evil in its simplest form. This time, their target was the Moon Temple and the legendary powers it held within its heart. I was their target, I was Cresselia, the keeper of the Moon Temple's power. I had to be strong, I couldn't let everything be in vain…

(Keith's P.O.V, leaving for Fiore)

I watched as Kate became tiny on the horizon. She was my best friend, and it hurt to leave her. I knew we would see each other again though. Call it instinct, but I think this is the beginning of goodbye, not the actual goodbye. The thought scared me a little. Kate is such an interesting person. She has told me very little about herself, yet she knows almost everything about me. She is really special, and I wish I got the chance to tell her before I left, because I really wanted to tell her that I like her. Like as in more-than-just-a-friend like. I just hope I get the chance to tell her someday…

(Kate's P.O.V, present day)

I woke up with a start. I was being shaken senseless by a girl with dark brown hair. She slowly came into focus. It was Luana, the girl I had met during my one-day internship. Oh Arceus! I had woken up late for morning briefing. The night before, Luana had come to the Ranger School to gather me for Vientown's Ranger Base. That was where I would be stationed, and I was very glad.

I actually found myself crying yesterday, for the thought the Vientown rangers had shown for me. They had made the effort to learn sign language, and had specifically requested I be stationed there. Apparently they had been so impressed with my capture of the starly, that they wanted me, and not anyone else. It really made me want to cry.

I quickly shoved on the real ranger uniform Luana gave me. I walked out with a nervous smile on my face.

"Hello. It's a pleasure to see me. Sorry you're late," Everyone laughed. I didn't realize what was so funny until Crawford said, "That's even better than what I said when I first came here. I'm sorry we're late too." Everyone laughed again, and I face-palmed. I guess it's better than my first day at the Ranger School. I don't even want to repeat what I signed then. It was a good ice-breaker though.

"Anyways, let me do the formal introductions. I'm Barlow, I am the second strongest person in all of Almia. This is Luana. She's very scatterbrained, like the other morning she burnt our toast. She has brilliant white teeth though, I'm kinda' envious." Everyone laughed at Barlow. His face turned red, as he obviously hadn't meant to say that out loud. You didn't have to be a psychic pokémon to tell that though.

"Yes, that as very funny I'm sure. Anyways, back to introductions. You met Crawford, our resident jokester. I'm assuming you also met our operator, Shannon. She won us the styler recharging contest five years in a row. Finally, this is Elaine, our mechanic. Unfortunately, she prefers taking things apart to fixing them. Well, that's everyone." Just as Barlow finished speaking, a little girl burst in. She was followed by four happiny.

"Mimi! Is something the matter," Crawford asked. The little girl looked up at him.

"Mimi heard strange noises from Beach Cave. Mimi worried, so Mimi came to see rangers," the little girl said. Apparently, she speaks in the third person.

Barlow nodded, "Thanks for coming to see us Mimi. I'll send a couple of rangers to the Beach Cave to check it out." Barlow turned to us. "Luana, can you take Mimi home. Crawford, take Kate to the Beach Cave to investigate those weird noises. It's probably just a zubat, but with all the other weird stuff going on lately, you can never be too sure. I will stay here and report to the Union on the issue. Crawford, Kate, I expect a full mission report upon your return. Understood? Then I suggest you get on with it."

Luana left the Base with Mimi, so Crawford and I left as well. "So, did you and Keith ever get to dating?" I blushed a deep crimson as Crawford asked that.

"No. Why would you think that," I signed. I sure wished we were, but it wasn't like Keith would ever feel the same. Even if he did, I knew my destiny. It would only make it that much harder to say goodbye.

Crawford and I walked in silence all the way to the beach. I was surprised to see that the starly from before was here. She looked at me with pleading eyes.

"She probably wants to be your partner pokémon. Will you accept her as your partner," Crawford asked. I nodded my head, of course the answer was yes! I gave Starly a hug, and we continued on our way.

When we finally entered the cave, I got the same dizzy feeling and splitting headache. I breathed in deeply, I had to do this.  
>"Are you okay, Kate? You don't look so well," Crawford asked, his eyes filled with concern.<p>

"I'm fine. I just have a small headache, no big deal. Let's continue." We continued on our way deeper into the cave. Crawford jumped at a zubat's screech, and Starly flew around nervously. Sometimes I think people get nervous too easily, a trait I notice even in myself.

We finally reached the end of the cave. I saw a red machine. My headache had been getting progressively worse, and I suspected this strange machine was the cause. I motioned for Crawford to come over and take a look.  
>"What in Arceus's name is that? And how are we supposed to destroy it? This must be what's causing the pokémon to act so weird."<p>

I nodded. The more I thought about it, the truer it was. I had to admit, all of the pokémon in the cave had been acting rather strangely. None of them had said anything, merely walking in circles. I walked over and touched the odd machine. I immediately jumped back. It was very hot to the touch, and it made my headache ten times worse.

'Wait,' I thought, 'if it is so hot, then cooling it with water might just break it!' I figured I would need a pokémon with a power rating of at least two.

"Crawford, are there any pokémon with the field move soak, and a power rating of two in this cave." I smiled, hoping he had the answer.

"There might be a gastrodon somewhere if you need it. Why do you ask?"

I totally ignored him. This needed to be resolved quickly, or I wouldn't be able to stay in control of myself much longer. I quickly located the gastrodon and captured it. It wasn't as difficult to capture as the tangrowth, but it sure wasn't easy. I ran back to the machine, and pointed for Gastrodon to use soak on it. Gastrodon obeyed, and I was pleased to see the machine stop working.

"Wow! That was awesome Kate! I'm really surprised. I know I sure wouldn't have thought of using soak to destroy the machine! I tell you what, you go back and tell the leader what happened, and I'll get Almia's strongest person to carry this. I know for sure it's too heavy for me to carry alone.

(Kate's P.O.V, half an hour later)

"Can I dismantle it? Please," Elaine, our mechanic asked. Ever since Crawford got back from the cave with the machine, Elaine has been begging us to let her dismantle it. Barlow keeps telling her to wait for Professor Hastings. Personally, I'm most excited about meeting the Professor.

"Hey Kate, if you want to turn in early, go ahead. You've had a full day," Barlow said.

"I will have to take you up on that offer. I'm not feeling so well, so see you in the morning," I signed. I decided to try to get some sleep. There was something bothering me though. Why would that machine be able to make the pokémon act so strange, and why would it affect me too? I wondered if it had something to do with me being the Lady of the Moon, Cresselia. I guess there's no use just sitting around wondering, I should probably use the opportunity to catch up on some much needed sleep. I signed a quick goodnight to Starly, and fell sound asleep. I kept waking up though, every couple of hours. I had a bad feeling, a feeling that my entire life would be turned upside down soon…

**Thank you for reading all of this! I hope you enjoyed this, have a great day, and please review. Thank you so much!**


	11. Chapter 10: The Heart of the Storm

**Author's note: I just want to say this, I cannot thank you enough for reading this, and especially reviewing it! I am sorry, but I may update slightly less often. I am very busy with school and planning for college, so please forgive me. **

**Disclaimer: I really am not joking about the fact that I don't own pokémon, the characters, the games storyline or whatever else I forgot. Otherwise, would this be a ****_fan_****-fiction?**

Chapter 10: At the Heart of the Storm

(Kate's P.O.V, past)

In my darkest moments, he was always there. My brother would always support me. So why would he go off to Unova and leave me alone. I broke down crying. The rain that swirled around me only made it worse. It was like a scene from a movie, but the pain I felt was all too real. It was real, and it hurt deeper every second. I was shivering in the cold, but I hardly realized. All my thoughts were on the pain of goodbye. What if this was goodbye forever? What if he never came back?

I began to shake furiously. I had no control over myself, I was hyperventilating and panicking. The world was becoming a blur, I could hardly breathe. I nearly fell over, when I heard a whimper. There was a pokémon who needed my help nearby, I could finish panicking later.

I walked slowly towards where the cry was coming from. It was a cyndaquil, breathing heavily. The rain couldn't be good for the poor thing, oh poor, poor Cyndaquil. I lifted the pokémon up, and carried it into the small structure nearby. I had been living there with my brother since we were orphaned. I carried the cyndaquil in there and proceeded to find my first-aid kit. I smiled and turned to Cyndaquil.

"I'll name you Cyndi, okay," I signed to her. She nodded happily, and we began our friendship. A friendship that would keep me safe for many years…

(Kate's P.O.V, present day)

I woke up and found my pillows were wet. I had been crying in my sleep. My sleep was so fragmented, I wasn't sure if it could even count as sleep. Whatever, it was four in the morning, but I just couldn't get back to sleep. I decided to go for a quick walk.

(Luana's P.O.V, 4:24 am)

I woke up with a loud yawn. "Hey Kate, you excited for work today?" I looked around, and was shocked to see a note lying in Kate's bed, not her. I reached over and grabbed the note.

_To Luana, Shannon, or Elaine,_

_I just went for a quick walk, no need to worry. I should be back by seven thirty._

_Katlyne _

I flipped over and went back to sleep. Kate could take care of herself.

(Kate's P.O.V, present)

I walked through the dimly lit forest. The beautiful sounds of the forest, its sacred tranquility, it was all so perfect. Yet, for all of the life that surrounds me, I feel strange. I could hear the moon whispering to me, "enjoy this, it will not last." I knew why, the time was coming. It was the perfect time now, and I wished time would stand still. I looked back on the picture album Keith and Rythmi had given me. Such good memories. I had never had a family like them. To me, my friends are my family. No, they are more than that. They are my life.

I would do anything for a friend. I would use every ounce of my power to help them. I flipped the page over. It was a picture of me, Rythmi, Keith, Isaac and Ponte. It had been taken after Outdoor Class, I guess Miss April must've taken the photo. I found myself smiling. No matter what, at least I would always have my friends, even if we are an ocean apart. I still had yet to get Rythmi and Isaac together, but I would find a way. I always did for important stuff. Every day was so precious.

Time is limited, that is why it is best not to get too attached to anyone or anything. That's what I used to believe, but meeting everyone changed that. I believe that because life is limited, it just means you must live your life. Live, love, and learn. Protect your friends, the people you love, your family. Life is short so we can appreciate what we have. It is precious, beautiful, and unique. Everyone lives to learn, and learns to live.

I walked back to the Base, feeling an odd sense of calm and sensing the beauty in the world. For once, everything was as it should be. If only, if only it could last.

(Keith's P.O.V., present)

I wondered how Kate was doing. I had debated voice-mailing her, but she was probably still asleep. I missed her, but I still had great memories. I remembered her smile, her kindness, and how special she was. I hoped I got the chance to tell her how I felt one-day. I smiled, I knew she would always be my friend. No matter the distance between us, no matter the troubles. I knew that we would see each other again. Call it instinct, but if there's one thing she taught me, it's to trust your instinct.

(Kate's P.O.V., present)

I heard a strange noise. I began to get that headache I always get, and the dizzy, lightheaded accompaniment. I headed on the direction of the sound, wondering if it was another machine, we had found _GIGAREMO, PROTOTYPE 1, _etched on the side of it. We had named the machines Gigaremos because of that. I headed out into a sunlight glade. I saw an odd man, wearing a black suit with a purple swirl. He was messing around with a Gigaremo.

I stamped my foot on the ground to get his attention. He whirled around, setting a switch on the Gigaremo off as he did. Almost immediately, a swarm of rattata came rushing around me.

I managed to capture the whole lot with just a few spins of my styler. It was rather easy, really. Though the man managed to disappear, I was able to destroy the Gigaremo.

I walked back to the Base to file a report on what I saw. All the while, my thoughts were stuck on that machine. Was it possible that it could control pokémon?

**Thank you for reading this. Sorry if it was rather short, but I have a lot going on. My life is kind-of upside down lately, so I need some time to think. I will try to update over the weekend, but I may not be able to. Sorry, and thank you.**


	12. Chapter 11

**Author's note: Hi! I am so, so sorry for not updating over the past few weeks. I had a major project in school, and then I got the flu. :( Thank you so much for your patience, and please forgive me if this writing isn't as good as usual. Also, thank you to everyone who reviewed, and for not reviewing with hate and other similar stuff. I really can't thank you enough!**

**Disclaimer: I promise you I don't own pokémon. No, seriously. I don't own Pokémon, the characters, the games storyline, or whatever else I forgot. This is a ****_fan_****-fiction.**

(Chapter 11: Gigaremo, and Other Pressing Issues)

(Kate's P.O.V., Present day)

I walked back into the base. The operator, Shannon, was talking to Barlow, Crawford and Luana. She looked rather serious as she fiddled around with several pieces of information on her desk. I snuck over, because I didn't want to disturb them. They must've talked for a good five minutes before anyone noticed me, at which point they all stopped and put uneasy smiles on their faces. Shannon quickly shoved the papers into a file, which I noticed had a small crest on the top right corner. Luana was the first to break the ice.

"Hi, did you enjoy your walk? We were getting a little worried 'bout you taking so long. I was considering hiring a search party," Luana said with a sharp laugh.

I was rather suspicious at this point. Why would Luana's attitude shift from solemn to happy in the blink of an eye? It was like they were hiding something from me, which always peaked my curiosity.

"Yes, I enjoyed my walk. Actually, I saw a strange guy messing with a Gigaremo. He was wearing a black uniform with a creepy purple swirl. I think the Gigaremo was controlling the pokémon, because some of them soon began to attack me," I signed.

I pretended not to notice anything of Luana's attitude. Why alert them to my suspicions when I could still glean more information. I always loved playing detective, and I had learned a little from some old friends of mine.

Suddenly, an older woman burst in. She looked rather disheveled with frizzy hair and a sooty dress. Her eyes were in a panic, and she was coughing as she spoke.

"Please! My little Mimi is in the Vien Forest, and the forest is aflame! Please help!"

"Okay guys," Barlow began, "I hate to ask, but Crawford, you go ahead and secure the area. Luana, you take Kate and go help Mimi. I will stay here and attend to her mother, okay?" We nodded.

Now, let me get this straight. Personally, the idea of going into a fire, rescuing a little girl, and watching the home of so many pokémon burn down hit a little too close to home for my comfort. At the very least, I knew that Crawford wouldn't let the forest burn to ashes, so I was willing to focus my energy upon rescuing Mimi.

Luana grabbed my hand, and proceeded to drag me towards the forest. Once we finally arrived, I was shocked both to feel how hot it was, and to see how quickly the fire must've spread. Wow. Just one little spark can destroy everything. Nature's destruction is almost as terrifying as that of humans. Almost, because we destroy all that comes across our path. Nature at least finds a way to survive.

It didn't take long to find Mimi. She was walking around, as if she were looking for something. Luana came over to the little girl and began to speak,

"Mimi, it's dangerous here. Your mother was really worried about you."

"Mimi can't go home. Mimi's happiny are still in the forest. Mimi must find her happiny," Mimi said. She looked around some more for the happiny as Luana and I formulated a plan.

"Okay Mimi. How about Kate finds your happiny, and I wait here with you." Luana didn't even wait for Mimi to answer before ushering me away. Now, I guess I was supposed to find some happiny.

"How many," I signed to Luana. I always worked with a goal in mind, and I needed as much information as possible to make that goal.

"Four! Four happiny," Luana responded. I quickly rushed off. Now I had my goal, rescue Mimi's four happiny.

I walked onward down a small path, and was nearly flattened by a flaming log. Several sunkern leapt out of the brush in a panic, and I immediately went into a capture. It wasn't hugely difficult, but the amount of pokémon made it a little difficult. I always have a difficulty capturing several pokémon at once, as they almost always impede my capture line. Of course, this was no exception.

By the time I finished capturing the sunkern, the fallen log had all but burned away. I jumped over the remaining parts, and continued on my way.

_Wait for me! I'm not used to this kind of flying!_

Sorry Starly. I didn't mean to leave you behind. Did you happen to see any happiny?

_No, they must be further along the path. Wait! Did you just hear that?_

I nodded. The two of us continued around the corner until we finally came across a small clearing. There was the first happiny, looking rather in a panic. I brought out my styler and decided to capture it.

I was shocked to see how difficult a capture happiny was. I decided to use Starly's poke- assist, and was happy to see how much it helped. I finished the rest of the capture without a hitch, and we continued on our way.

It wasn't too difficult to find the rest of the happiny, they were in plain sight as we continued down the path. I quickly captured them, and ran back to Luana and Mimi. Of course, what did I do but fall face down in the dirt. After laughing for a good while, Luana and Mimi helped me up. Mimi returned home with her happiny, and Luana and I continued onward to find Crawford.

"There you two are! Kate, I need your help. Find me a Blastiose, okay," Crawford said with a quick nod. I nodded back.

I quickly noticed a stream running through, so I decided to take a look downstream. After all, it was only logical that a water pokémon like blastiose would be hanging out by the water. I finally found the blastiose, and went into a capture.

Ouch! Note to self: when you see a pokémon move coming towards you, it rather helps to dodge.

I finally completed the capture, it having been far more difficult than I had envisioned. I walked back to Crawford and Luana, who seemed deep in conversation.

"You know though, I've been wondering about her...," Crawford's voice trailed off when he saw me.

"Okay, now you, Kate, can find the proper spot to use Blastiose's area move."

I nodded. I was curious about Luana and Crawford's conversation, but it seemed all hush-hush. I finally spotted the perfect spot, and had Blastiose use his rain dance. I patted Blastiose on the head on thanks, and released him.

_You could've warned me! _

I grinned. Oops… another note to self: warn Starly, he doesn't like to get wet.

Crawford and Luana came rushing up to me, cheesy grins plastered on their faces.

"Why is it raining?" Joked Crawford. Luana rolled her eyes, and I did too. The three of us walked back to the base together, arm in arm and laughing.

'It's good to have friends,' I thought, 'If only it could stay this way…'

**Thank you for reading! Sorry if this wasn't as good, or as long, as usual, I'm still dealing with remnants of the flu, but I hope you enjoyed it anyways. Thank you, and please review.**


	13. Chapter 12

**Author's note: Thank you for reading this. Also, thank you to anyone who reviewed. I'm sorry for updating infrequently, but there was a huge blizzard and I had to shovel… yeah. So thank you. **

**Disclaimer: I hope you know by now that I don't own pokémon and all that stuff. No joke.**

Chapter 12: The Secrets We All Hide

(Keith's P.O.V., Present day)

I keep wondering how Kate is doing. It can't be easy always hiding yourself from people. Especially the fact that she is Cresselia, its kind-of a big thing to hide from people. It's not like she can hide it forever, either. And exactly how long is she planning on keeping it a secret, anyways?

(Kate's P.O.V., Present)

I'm afraid of everyone learning the truth. Keith and Rythmi were the first people to ever really understand me at all, and I haven't even told them the full truth. The full truth… I've spent my entire life hiding it from people. I've become so good at lying about myself that I'm not even sure exactly who I am.

My brother N, he always pursued his own ideals. I pursued not truth, not ideals, but dreams. A long time ago, I learned the world wasn't black and white. Good, evil, eventually it all blends together. There is no such definitive right or wrong. Just as life and death are not separate entities. Any of such couldn't exist without the other.

I always wondered what a black and white world would be like. There are people who do see the world as black and white. I, personally, see the world as shades. Shades of every color, even those unimaginable. Sometimes, I close my eyes and see a world so different from ours. Free from the perceived evils of strife and war. A perfect world, my perfect world.

Then I hear the gleeful shrieks of little kids playing, or the couples laughing together. That's when I remember things aren't perfect for a reason. They aren't perfect so we can learn, so we can live, and above all, love. There are very few people I truly love. Maybe I'm slightly cold towards people, maybe I don't trust easily, but I have my reasons. The reasons are such that I'd rather not share.

Every time I close my eyes I remember. I remember the entire world that used to be. I remember Darkrai, and our fateful goodbye. As he's my brother, I'd very much like to see him again. Still though, history is doomed to repeat itself. That's what I'm afraid of. I can learn from my own mistakes, but I can't make others learn from theirs…

(Keith's P.O.V., present)

My face paled as I read Luana's letter. I couldn't believe it. Oh Kate, why did she find it so important to hide the past from us? Her parents' death when she was little, her own brother abandoning her, and then a fire destroying her home. Maybe that was why she was so different. No, that wasn't it. She was different because she is different. I guess some things are impossible to explain.

Then there was the whole "Lady of the Moon" thing. What exactly was that anyways? The weirdest part for me was, if she was Cresselia, then was she a pokémon or a human? Or both? Or neither? Or, or, or… argh! I think my mind is going to explode if I think about this any longer.

Everything about Kate is super confusing. That includes my feelings for her. I want to tell her I like her, but it's so difficult. Impossible. Terrifying. That, and every other word of fear. It's like, totally unachievable. Totally.

(Kate's P.O.V., present)

I really, really miss Keith. Rythmi too. Everyone, in fact. Still though, I miss Keith the most. I think I might actually love Keith. The thought makes me rather nervous. And what's going to happen to Keith when I have to leave. When I have to leave forever.

That reminds me, I still have yet to get Rythmi and Isaac together. I really love playing matchmaker, but it always seems to annoy other people. Oh well, you can't be friends with everyone.

The only person I know who truly understands me is Keith. You know, it's so much easier to hate than it is to love. When you hate, it allows you an emotional release. When you love, it's an emotional roller coaster. Up, down, your emotions fly every which way. Is it worth it? The only answer I can think of is yes. Yes, because true love releases an incredible feeling. It's indescribable.

Love isn't black and white either. There are so many different ways love manifests in people, like friendship, family, or well… love. Those are the three different types I know of. There isn't one set example of how love should be, is, or was. I think that may be for the best, too. If everyone or everything were the same, then how would we know how special an individual was?

Our differences are what make us special. Yet, people hate each other for their differences. I don't understand why. Arguments and hatred, they hurt me. Being able to sense others emotions, I feel the pain and hurt of others.

"Hey Katie!" I whirled around. Who else was on the middle of the forest, anyways? I had been spending most of my time here after the fire. We had found a strange guy on our way back, and we took him to the Base. The dude hasn't said a word since.

"Hi Luana," I signed, "How is everything?"

"All's good Kate. I just wanted to give you a letter from Keith."

I smiled as she handed me the letter. I signed a quick thank you to her, and ripped open the letter.

_Dear Katlyn,_

_How are you? I miss you a lot. I just wanted to let you know that I always am available to talk. _

_Your friend, Keith._

I was kind of puzzled at this point. Why would Keith send me a letter just to say he was available to talk? That was weird, even for him. I looked around, but Luana had already left. Something was going on here, and I was going to find out what…

**Hi! Thanks for reading this. Sorry it was short, and weird. I have something planned for next chapter, so just you wait! *Evil laugh* Um, anyways, I hope you enjoyed this, and please review. Thank you so much :)**


	14. Chapter 13

**Author's note: Thank you for reading this, and thank you to all who reviewed. This chapter is for my awesome friends who are always so supportive of me! You have gotten me through some of the worst times in my life! I hope that this Valentine's Day, everyone is spending time with the people they love, whether it be friends, family, or sweethearts. That is the true, meaning of Valentine's Day. Either way, have a most wonderful Valentine's Day everyone! This is Valentine's Day themed ONLY for fluffiness, and only slightly. I probably could have rated this K+, but I don't want trouble, just in case, with character death and stuff. I love writing more than anything. Anyways, I really can't believe anyone is reading this. Thank you a million times over.**

**Disclaimer: Please tell me that by now, you know I don't own pokémon and the like.**

Chapter 13: When is a secret not a secret, and what am I supposed to do on Valentine's Day?

(Kate's P.O.V., present)

I walked back to the base. I stopped quickly to check the date on my styler. Oh wow, it was February 14 already. Wait… February 14… that's Valentine's Day! How much I was glad Keith wasn't here. On the other hand, I wished Rythmi and Isaac were here, that way I could do some serious matchmaking. I smirked, that would be so much fun. Yet, there was a part of me that wished Keith was here, too. Why did I wish that? Why?

I finally got to the base. I got some kind of uneasy feeling, and paused. What exactly was going on here? I pushed open the door to find the base was dark and empty.

"Surprise!" I nearly jumped out of my skin. The light turned on, and I saw Rythmi, Keith, and Isaac all staring sheepishly at me.

"We got the weekend off, so we decided to come and visit. Figured you'd like it better as a surprise," Keith said with an embarrassed laugh. Why did I have the feeling this was all Keith's idea? Hey, at least Rythmi and Isaac are here too. This was going to be one interesting day…

(Keith's P.O.V., present)

Poor Kate. When we surprised her, I think she was going to faint. Not that she hasn't fainted like, twenty times already. Seriously, it's kind of crazy.

"Oh yeah, Kate! Guess what! I and Isaac are together now. Isn't it awesome," Rythmi said with a smile, putting her arm around Isaac. I laughed at the look on Kate's face. It was obvious to me she'd wanted to play matchmaker.

"Hey! Keith." Isaac put his arm around me as he whispered in my ear, "When are you going to ask Kate out."

I blushed profusely. I had accidentally told Isaac I liked Kate, and he hadn't stopped teasing me since.

"Not now, okay. Later," I whispered. I was glad Kate didn't seem to hear.

(Kate's P.O.V., present)

I watched as Keith came over. He tapped lightly on my shoulder and motioned towards the door. I quickly followed him outside.

"So what's up," I signed to him. I was rather curious. Could it be..? Maybe he wanted to ask me out! Or tell me some awesome story about how Rythmi and Isaac got together!

"I… I just wanted you to know I'm always here for you. I really like you as a friend, you know. And… and I know everyone else will be just as supportive of you." Keith smiled, and I expected him to do some sort of interpretive dance next. I could understand that about as well as I could understand this, not very well. Seeing that I wasn't getting the point, Keith continued,

"Okay, I'm just going to say this: I know about you past, we all do. We all want to help you, but you need to let us. We all care deeply for you," Keith spoke in his most soothing voice, but it had the opposite effect on me. I glared deeply at him, signed a couple of words he probably didn't know, and stormed off. Who in Arceus did he think he was, just spying on me of the past! I was a completely different person now!

A long time ago, I vowed to leave the past behind me. Yet, every time I think I finally have, it always seems to come back to haunt me. And exactly how much did Keith know? Hopefully not much, there are still so many things about my past I'd rather people not know. There are so many things I regret, so many mistakes I've made, but I always never learn. Like by now, I should have learned not to trust people.

I stopped when I came to Breeze Hill. I felt the gentle breeze rush past, and began to cry. For once, I didn't wipe away the tears, but let them fall, the gentle and soft grass blowing around me in the wind…

(Kate's P.O.V., past)

"Hey Katlyne, you want to come play with us?" A little girl asked. I shook my head.

"Well that's good, we wouldn't want a person like her anyways." Laughed the girl's friend. She gave me an apologetic look and walked away. Neither the girl nor her friends ever spoke to me again…

(Kate's P.O.V., different memory)

"Kate," called my school principle, "Please come here a minute."

I rushed over. "What is it?" I signed.

"I'm so sorry to tell you this Kate, but you're no longer welcome here. You've become too much of a problem with the other kids." The principle stopped as I ran out of the room. It was totally unfair, I wasn't the one being mean, they were! And for all of that, I was the one getting kicked out..?

(Kate's P.O.V., present)

The breeze still fell around me, even as night was approaching. Keith hadn't come after me, and I was fine that way. I was enjoying being alone. It felt safe here. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep, though that was far from peaceful.

(Keith's P.O.V., present)

I finally came out from hiding when Kate fell asleep. She was tossing and turning, but I didn't want to wake her up. It was obvious today had been really difficult. I put my arm around her, and she leaned into my arm. I held her for a long time, before finally drifting into sleep myself…

**Thank you for reading this, and please review. Also, I really hope you enjoyed this. Again, I want to wish everyone reading this a wonderful Valentine's Day. I'm sorry if this chapter was short, but I'll try to make a longer one now that it's February Break! Did you like chapter 13? On a random note, 13 is my favorite number! Poor 13 is so misunderstood! Um, anyways, please review, and thank you for reading.**


	15. Chapter 14: Wish Upon A Star

**Author's Note: Hi! :) I just want to say thank you for reviewing, and reading, and just plain looking in the first place. Also, I know my writing is only half-decent, so if anyone has suggestions for getting better, please leave them in a review. Just please, be nice if you do. ****_Finally, this chapter is probably one of the saddest and most depressing. It has a lot of background info, but if you don't like sadness, death, etc. then please wait until the next chapter and I'll put a brief overview of this one at the beginning. _****THIS CHAPTER IS NOT ALL PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, just saying.****_  
><em>****Thank you so, so much.**

**Disclaimer: I can wish on a million stars, but I'll never own pokémon and the like.**

Chapter 14: Wish Upon a Star

(Kate's P.O.V., present)

I woke up. Slowly the world came into focus around me, and the first thing I saw was Keith asleep next to me. I gently woke Keith up. He looked at me, and the two of us stared in silence up at the night sky for a very long time. The gentle breeze around us, the beautiful hillside, the incredible night sky. It was all too much to take in. Keith had his arm around me, and I nestled into it. I felt warm, comfortable and safe, for what must be the first time in my life. I slowly began to weep.

I wept for my mother, my father and my brother, I wept for Cyndi, and mostly, I wept for all the fear I had inside. The fear of losing more people I cared about. The fear of being betrayed again. The fear of people, and above all, the fear of trusting others. So many years I spent just shying away from others, so much so that I forgot how to trust. Even now, it still takes me a very long time to trust people. And that's if I ever decide to trust them. I've been betrayed or used so many times in my life that I find it's nearly impossible to care about others. Every time I've done that, it only ended up in pain.

But one day, that's all it took for my life to change. Just one day to learn to trust, care, maybe even love. The day I met Keith and Rythmi. My two best friends, and so much more. I cherish every day with them, because they are the friends who come around once in a blue moon.

"Kate," Keith began, "I'm so, so sorry if I upset you earlier. But the truth is, Luana found out by accident and told me, and then I told Rythmi. I'm truly sorry if I disappointed you. The truth is, you are the best friend I've ever had, and I can't bear the thought of ever losing you. So I mean it when I say, I'm sorry."

All I could do was cry more. My hands shaky, I signed a quick, "It's really okay," to Keith and fell down crying. I looked up to the night sky and I made a wish.

'I wish I could spend as much time as possible with Keith and everyone. And above all, I wish that I can always protect my precious friends.'

(Keith's P.O.V., present)

Holding Kate in my arms, I felt strangely calm. The starry night sky was beautiful, and the gentle breeze made for a perfect scene. It was like something out of a movie.

"Hey Kate," I said, "I know it's difficult, but can you tell me more about your past?"

She nodded and began to sign…

(Kate's P.O.V., memory)

"Kate!" My brother screamed. I ran towards him.

"What happened?" I signed.

All he could do was point. I looked over slowly. In that moment, it felt like time had frozen over. There, lying dead was the rest of my family. I saw a note on the floor, lying near them. Numbly, I picked it up and read it,

_Cresselia,_

_This was because of you. They are dead because of you. If you don't join us, more will join your family. You have two choices: Join us and some may live, or hide and all will perish. You know that you only cause destruction, so join us and be where you belong._

_~Team Dim Sum_

I began to shake. Why, why was this happening? I prayed that when I woke up tomorrow, this would all just be a nightmare.

My brother gently took my hand.

"I will always be there for you Katie. I promise," He said softly.

I looked into my brothers eyes and began to weep. How could he understand? This was all my fault. How could I have brought this upon people who only wanted to love me..?

(Kate's P.O.V., present)

I felt tears welling up even at the memory. Nothing could ever change how I feel about my family, not even the winds of time. A poem I once heard said this:

_Time is an everlasting feeling,  
>Though it's been said the pain gets easier in time, the pain just gets worse,<br>Love is a forgotten emotion all too often through the winds of change,  
>A heart may be broken, but does it still beat,<br>My heart is broken, but I do not believe,  
>I do not believe the pain of parting do ease.<em>

I loved that poem as a little kid. It was a beautiful poem, truly beautiful. I felt it related on some deeply personal level to the pain I had inside.

"Hey Kate," Keith said, "You okay?"

I nodded swiftly. Then I shook my head. I couldn't keep lying anymore. I wasn't okay, not any more than a baby starly would be okay falling out of its nest onto the cold, hard ground. I wasn't fine. I was lonely, saddened by memories and pain of the past. I was tired of being afraid. I was tired of being somebody's burden, or somebody's duty to protect, or always feeling like a nuisance. But most of all, I was tired of being the cause of other's pain. I always made people suffer. Maybe the people from Dim Sum were right. Maybe I am just a being that exists only to cause pain. But if that was true, then I decided. I decided I would finish my purpose, my purpose to save Almia, even if it meant devoting my entire life to achieve that end…

(Keith's P.O.V., present)

I wish there was something I could do, but all I could do was whisper a small "I'm sorry," and put my arms around her. We sat there what must've been a very long time, watching the sunrise, before Kate finally pulled away. She looked at me and began to sign more…

(Kate's P.O.V., past)

I watched as my brother grew faint on the horizon, his words still an echo in my ear.

"I'm doing this for you! I, I can't keep protecting you, you need to learn to do it yourself. I can't keep being with you. I'm sorry, you'll just have to take care of yourself."

The harshness of his words still an echo, I walked away, to cry myself asleep later…

(Kate's P.O.V., present)

I bent over and put my head on Keith's shoulder. After what felt like a million years, we both got up, and proceeded back to the base. It was finally time to allow myself to free the pain of the past. After a while, I might finally be able let my broken heart beat. A heart may be broken, but does it still beat..?

**I have a bad habit of character death when I write, so just warning you, this won't be the last time with character death. I wasn't even planning on including character death in this chapter, it just happened. Sorry, but this is a tragedy. And yes, I know it is team Dim Sun, not Dim Sum. I just like Dim Sum better, sorry. It's way tastier. Yum… um, anyways, please review.**


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